The people of Yauri town in Kebbi State have captured, butchered and ate the hippopotamus that recently mauled a farmer to death.
Following the death of the farmer the Kebbi State government empowered farmers and fishermen to track the hippo in the community along the banks of the River Niger. The animal was eventually located and was speared to death and its carcass taken to the Emir of Yauri palace where it was butchered, and its meat given to those in local community.
“We are a town of fishermen and farmers, and this hippo has made many to stop going out due to fear of an attack,” resident Sani Yauri told the BBC.
“Apart from killing a member of the emir’s staff, it also seriously injured another person – not also forgetting the damage it regularly does to our farmlands.
“We are happy it has been killed and people came out in jubilation – and also got their share of the meat,” Mr Yauri said.
Nigeria’s hippo population has declined rapidly over the last few decades – estimates suggest there are now around 100 animals, which mainly live in conservation areas.
The common hippopotamus is on the red list of threatened species put together by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
“This is an endangered species, and I was sad when I saw the video clip of people celebrating after it was killed,” Isyaku Abdullahi, animal rights activist and founder of Nigeria’s African Voice for Animals Initiative, told the BBC.
“What the people of Yauri ought to have done was to report to relevant authorities who would capture and relocate it.”
